Join the Conversation

Public memorial service for Ralph Wilson planned

ROC
2:09 p.m. EDT March 28, 2014

Founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, Ralph Wilson Jr., stands with his bronze bust during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Aug. 8, 2009, in Canton, Ohio. (Photo: Tony Dejak ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills' Ralph Wilson Jr. speaks during the Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, 2009, in Canton, Ohio. (Photo: AP / David Richard)

Former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly, left, poses for a photo with Bills owner Ralph Wilson Jr., right, before an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Orchard Park, N.Y., on Sunday, Nov. 6, 2011. (Photo: David Duprey AP)

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, right, waves to members of the media as former Bills defensive end Bruce Smith looks on during a news conference after the pair were elected in Pro Football's Hall of Fame, Saturday afternoon, Jan. 31, 2009, in Tampa, Fla. ( (Photo: Chris O'Meara AP)

Members of the 2009 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, from left, former Pittsburgh Steelers' Rod Woodson, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, and former Buffalo Bills' Bruce Smith. (Photo: Chris O'Meara AP)

Ralph Wilson answers questions from the media during the The Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009 press conference at the Tampa Convention Center on January 31, 2009. (Photo: Streeter Lecka Getty Images)

Rogers president and CEO Ted Rogers, left, Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson, center, and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment chairman Larry Tannenbaum hold a football after holding a news conference in Toronto on Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2008 to announce that the Buffalo Bills will play eight games in the next five years in Toronto. (Photo: Frank Gunn AP)

Bills owner Ralph Wilson, center, flanked by New York Gov. George Pataki, left, and NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, right, announces July 31, 1997, in Fredonia that the Bills reached a lease agreement with state and local governments that would keep the Bills playing in Rich Stadium for the next 15 years. (Photo: Bill Sikes)

In this April 8, 1966, file photo, Al Davis, right, the head coach-general manager of the Oakland Raiders, and Ralph Wilson, president of the AFL and owner of the Buffalo Bills, look on after Davis was selected as the new American Football League commissioner in Houston. (Photo: Ed Kolenovsky AP)

In this April 28, 1966 file photo, Ralph Wilson, left, AFL president and Buffalo Bisons owner, Al Davis, center, new commissioner of the AFL, and Jack Kemp, Bison quarterback and the leagues player representative, are shown at a news conference in New York. (Photo: AP)

Representatives of the Embryo American Football League pose in a football-like formation in New York City, Oct. 28, 1959. Posing in the front row from left are, Robert L. Howsam, Denver, Colo.; Max Winter, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.; Lamar Hunt, Dallas, Texas, the League's founder; and K.S. Adams. Jr., Houston, Texas. In the back row from left are, Barron Hilton, Los Angeles, Ca.; Ralph C. Wilson Jr., Buffalo, N.Y.; and Harry Wismer, New York. (Photo: AP)

Like this topic? You may also like these photo galleries:

Buffalo Bills owner Ralph Wilson tips his cap to cheering fans during a training camp session at St. John Fisher College in 2000. A public memorial service for Wilson has been scheduled for April 5.
(Photo:
Max Schulte
,
2000 file photo
)

The Buffalo Bills will hold a memorial service for team owner Ralph C. Wilson Jr. from 1 to 4 p.m. on April 5 in the Buffalo Bills Fieldhouse.

Wilson, the Bills founder and a Pro Football Hall of Famer, died Tuesday at his home in Grosse Pointe Shores, Mich. He was 95.

Fans interested in making a donation in honor of Wilson's memory are encouraged to do so at The Hospice Foundation of Western New York, The Alzheimer's Association Greater Michigan Chapter and to St. John Hospital Medical Center in support of the Wilson Telemonitoring Program.